Angels Uprising
by N7 Greek-Valkyrie
Summary: Rayne has been kidnapped, Carlos is playing a dangerous game, Alice is on the hunt, and the others have headed for sanctuary. Nothing is as it seems with this, and just what is Umbrella hiding? Sequel to The Sands of Time and a total reboot of Eternal Faith in Damnation.
1. Missing Days

**Hello everyone and welcome back. This is a fresh new rewrite of what used to be Eternal Faith in Damnation, now you can see I changed it to Angels Uprising. I thought it a more fitting name, as well as changing my Author name. This may confuse some of you, but it made sense to me. I needed a new start in a way, and I felt that this was the best way to portray that to myself and everyone else. **

**Now, this is still the sequel to The Sands of Time. That story was predominantly written by me, with only some help on the fight scenes which I think I am trash at. However, this one will be exclusively written by me alone, and I will try and lot make the fighting seem like crud. Now as they say in showbiz, On with the show!**

**Warning for those who don't want to read this section, Day 7 is about rape, however, due to the rating system going into detail would make it an MA story and they only go up to M. So I can only give you an edited version. If you don't like rape you can skip Day 7 and continue to the following chapter to avoid the unpleasant effects it may give you. This by no means condones rape or the effects it has on someone's mind. This is used to portray just how far gone someone is and the unfortunate events that befell our beloved Rayne. Sadly, this is a very real thing many women have to deal with and it isn't to be taken lightly. **

* * *

**Awakening**

When I first woke up, I felt nauseous and had a horrible pounding migraine. My body felt lethargic and sluggish as if I was recovering from some form of flu. I felt my head lift as I tried to take in my surroundings, I could feel that I was restrained, the cool metal digging into my wrists and ankles being the main indicator. I had a collar around my neck preventing me from moving my head too much, I hated it as soon as I could consciously recognize it, it made me feel like I was being choked, even though it wasn't that tight. The smell was damp and musty, it made me think of a basement, or cellar of some kind.

I tried to open my eyes, they felt so heavy, I had to of been drugged. What was the last thing that had happened? I stilled and steadied my breathing as I fought the fog in my mind and tried to remember. There has been a battle of some kind, right? A red-haired woman flashed in my mind alongside the feeling of safety, perhaps a friend? Another flash, this time of two people a short-haired brunette female and a dark blonde male, the feelings of happiness, concern, and love accompanied them. It wasn't the kind one would feel for a lover, perhaps they were family? This time it was a flash of a long blonde haired teenage girl; the feelings of companionship, understanding, worry, concern, and protectiveness all followed her image. The feelings identified with her seem to lead to her being a little sister of sorts.

Finally, a flash of a woman with shoulder-length brunette hair and blue-green eyes; feelings of happiness, sorrow, pain, anger, worry, and concern. The emotions didn't stop and with them, my memories came surging back. I longed to grip my head as my mind assimilated everything back into its proper place. I knew I had been kidnapped by Carlos Olivera, he was responsible for my current predicament.

"Alice..." I spoke, my voice but a dull whisper from disuse, and in desperate need of a drink of water. Whatever I had been drugged with made my mouth feel like cotton. I heard footsteps approaching and I made an effort to lift my head and try to pry my eyes open. In doing so I could make out a dark figure approaching me.

"So, you can still utter her name. You don't deserve to have it cross your lips, disgusting creature. I'll enjoy making you scream as you beg me to end your suffering." A male voice spoke, disgust and contempt oozing off his every word.

"Carlos... you...bastard." I managed to utter, only to feel a fist slam itself into my gut making me heave what little saliva I had and spit it out.

"Tch. I never would have had to resort to this if you had done what I asked, you stupid bitch. All you had to do was walk away and leave Alice for me, but you just couldn't fucking listen!" I felt as he threw another punch, this time connecting with my face. I felt my face heat up, the impact was going to swell. "No matter, this way I get to kill two birds with one stone. I can have some...fun...with you. When Alice shows up, if, she shows up. I can show her the error of her ways...I'm going to enjoy making her watch as I kill you." He chuckled as he proceeded to hit me a couple of more times in my abdominal region before I heard him turn and leave. I blacked out soon after.

* * *

**Day 1**

The drugs had finally worked their way out of my system and I could look around without feeling like I was about to fall asleep carrying several backpacks full of junk. I was chained up to a wall, the area looked like a cellar or dungeon of some sort, yet now that I could see better, I realized that it was all a ruse. Likely, it was a disguise to misdirect you. If I concentrated hard enough I could smell chemicals just under the damp musty aroma this place generated. The more plausible conclusion was that he had me captive in an Umbrella base, but while knows which one, Umbrella had many. I almost didn't hear the heavy footfalls on the stone of the corridor.

I watched as Carlos entered the cell, pushing a small cart ahead of him as he entered. The cart has a couple of different items on it, but the one item that gathered my attention the most had to be the syringe. I wasn't sure what it was, but I did not want it anywhere near me. Although I huffed to myself, it wasn't like I had much of a choice in the matter.

"Hello, Carlos." I sneered as he drew closer. My voice having recovered after I woke back up. The drugs had worked their way through my system, and at the time I had been attached to an IV for a short time to restore fluid to my system. I guess that was the cheap way to go if you didn't want to feed someone.

"Hello, toy. So nice to see you're awake." He stated, coming to a stop in front of me with the cart. He turned and grabbed the syringe from the table and took off the cap, pushing down on flange as the plunger pushed the liquid out of the needle in a short burst. He turned and started walking towards me and I started to try and shake my restraints, to no avail. "Tut tut, none of that now. We can't have you breaking out and spoiling all my fun now, can we? The fun has yet to even begin!" He shook his head smiling like a lunatic.

"Don't even touch me with that thing. I don't know what the fuck it is, but stay away." I tried to put on a brave face, but let's be honest. I was going nowhere anytime soon. I was literally at his mercy and he knew it.

"Now now...just take your shot like a good bitch." Carlos slapped my face, making me jerk in my chains and he grinned. I decided to spit in his face, apparently, that's a bad idea when the lunatic has a syringe. He jabbed it into my neck and jammed down the flange pushing all the contents of that tube into my system, before yanking it back out and wiping his face.

"What the fuck!" I yelped, it felt a little like a warm stream was being pumped through my body making me weaker.

"Fucking Bitch! Say goodbye to your powers, this is a liquid kind of the stuff I gave you the last time when I stole your precious sword. Too bad I couldn't grab that when I took you, I'd of had fun breaking you with it. Now..." He said as he moved his hands to his belt, unbuckled it, and slid it from his waist. "It's time to teach you a lesson about manners."

The room dissolved into cracks of a belt across the skin, cursing, maniacal laughter, and the occasional spit and resound thuds of a person being beaten by fists.

* * *

**Day 2**

My body was sore and bruised. I wasn't sure if I had any cracked ribs or not, but I was sure that If I did and Carlos knew, he'd use it to his advantage to make me feel even more pain. I looked up again as I heard the wheels of the cart come down the corridor followed by his boots. Carlos grinned st me as he entered, another syringe and this time a scalpel and a pair of scissors were on the cart.

"Let's see if we can't connect the dots, shall we?" He chortled as he grabbed the syringe and repeated the actions of yesterday. Next, he took the scissors and proceeded to cut off my top and pants, luckily leaving me in my bra and panties. He then took ahold of the scalpel and twirled it between his fingers. "We're going to have so much fun, I love watching you bleed. And the more I hurt you, the less likely Alice will ever choose you again." He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Who'd ever want a girl covered in scars?" before he pulled away laughing.

* * *

**Day 3**

My body stung in places I wish it didn't, but at least I still had some clothes. As it was, because of the daily injections my healing was at a normal rate, so I felt everything and it sucked so much I wanted to cry, but I didn't dare give him the satisfaction of seeing me break down. I heard him coming again, this time it seemed he brought sponges, a bowl of lemons, salt, and the scalpel again. I was in for a world of pain.

* * *

**Day 4**

**Day 5**

* * *

**Day 6**

I could feel my body being moved so I was suspended from the ceiling and chained to the floor as well.

* * *

**Day 7 *WARNING! You may skip this day if you have any issues with rape. This will only be mentioned in the following chapters as Rayne attempts to work past what happens.***

I could hear his footsteps enter my cell, but this time he didn't have the cart with him. My body was constantly in pain either from the cuts, the salt or the lemon in the wounds, the bludgeoning blows he would deliver to my person, lack of food, etc. I don't know why he didn't bring the cart today, but this had a sense of foreboding run down my spine. Each day he came here to deliver his "punishment" and he seemed a little more unhinged than the last.

I felt as he came up to me and caressed my cheek before slapping me full strength across my face. Then he wandered around to the back of me and yanked my head back by my hair, his free arm snaking around my waist and pulling me to him and he ground his pelvis into my ass as he licked my neck. The reality of what I thought he was going to do set in and I struggled against my bindings despite my injuries to no avail. I could feel his cock grow as I struggled and he ground himself harder into me.

"I think I've waited long enough, I'm going to spoil you so no one ever wants you again, let alone Alice. Then I'll do it again when she's here. I'll make her watch as I destroy the bitch that kept me from her, and then I'll kill you. You're no more than a temporary cock sheath." He chuckled darkly pulling away, but not going too far. I could hear as he unbuckled his belt and then the sound of the buckle hitting the floor as he dropped it. The next noise was the zipper of his pants being pulled down and the rustling of clothes. I felt him come closer again and I felt something hard and cold press against my back before it shot upward quickly. I realized it was a knife as I felt my bra break apart, a couple more swipes and I was bare-chested for this sick fucker. The next thing I dreaded was what came next, his hands groped my thighs as he slid his hands upward and over my sex before ripping my underwear completely off.

My eyes jerked open as I tried to stay as composed as possible, despite knowing that after this nothing would be the same. I stared ahead as I watched Carlos pocket his knife again and pick up my underwear. He held them to his face and took a deep whiff of them before he jerked forward making my eyes go wide. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but he shoved my panties into my mouth to prevent me from making a sound. I slammed my eyes shut as my tears started to well up. I could feel his hands as the groped my breasts from behind, his cock was brushing against my ass as he ground into me.

"Time for a treat, Carlos. A sweet treat. Not as good as Alice probably is, but beggars can't be choosers." I heard him mutter to himself as he rotted against me before I felt him pull away only to feel the head of him then align with my entrance before he shoved himself in. There was no warning or foreplay to this, I was being raped and I had no conceivable way to prevent it or to defend myself. I was forced to endure as he took his time molesting my body and leaving bruises on places he had no right to touch. I felt violated to my very core.

It felt like it was days when it was maybe an hour and a half when he finally finished and let me be. I could feel my face was slick with my silent tears, I refused to open my eyes and see the monster that did this to me. I refused to let him know just how broken I now was.

"That's a good look for you." He laughed as I heard him putting back on his clothes. "I'll double your dose tomorrow, but I wanted you to feel what I was doing to you today. I'll see you again tomorrow for...another...session." He grated as he tugged at my body making me feel how hard he was again despite having just raped me. Before he backed up and finished with his clothes, then I heard his footsteps as they faded down the corridor. It was only when he was gone that I let myself cry without remorse for what I had lost, and the scars that would never heal.

"Someone, please save me..." I whispered to the winds.


	2. Saving Rayne

**If you read the last chapter in full, I apologize if I scared anyone with Day 7. To those who chose to skip Day 7 and come straight here, that's fine. Rayne won't go into to much detail, at least not until she finally talks to someone about it. Even then, I may skip ahead so I don't have to write anything in detail about what she went through. As a writer, it was very hard for me to write what happened, but I felt it was needed as this is a very real thing that a lot of women have to deal with if they are captured by enemies, it also works to portray how far gone Carlos is. Now, this chapter is explained in the name, but yes, Rayne will be freed. **

***DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Resident Evil series of movies. Sometimes I wish I did, simply because you have to admit, Milla Jovovich is kinda hot, of course so is Sienna Guillory, Ali Larter, etc. It's not my fault that they are very attractive women, and quite a bit older than me. No judging!***

* * *

**Several Weeks Later**

Outside on the streets of Tokyo, several men strategically dropped dead from their positions overlooking the area into the Tower. The snipers surrounding the area were quickly dispatched by people quietly stepping up behind them and snapping their unknowing necks. While the group could have used guns, this was much quieter and attracted less noise. Amidst the cover of the night, the group moved closer to the tower, some of them broke off and took care of the other lookouts for their approach to be a surprise. They had an objective to complete, and there could be no mistakes to make sure that it went off without a hitch. As the last of the sentries were taken care of the group convened in front of the tower. The small group that had gathered was a small army instead. Two of which stepped to the front and proceeded to speak to one another.

"This is simply the above-ground entrance, the rest of the structure is underground. It's just like the other facilities we encountered." Spoke one of them, they had shoulder-length brunette hair with undertones of blonde within.

"She's going to be here, Alice. We just have to get to her. The layout we got from the White Queen shows that the detention cells are right around the same area as the hidden helicopter take-off zone. We can get her and get out that way, and if we can't then we know there is a service entrance that leads back to the surface by the parking garage across the way." The woman said, placing her hand on Alice's shoulder reassuringly. She had a short edgy style haircut, her hair was a brunette with blonde undertones.

"I know, Janus. I'm just worried, I don't know what Carlos has done to her. I know he won't have listened to my warning, and I have a feeling it may have only made things much worse." Alice's hands balled into fists at her side as she shook with barely contained anger and self-loathing. "I swear when I get my hands on him..." She muttered.

"Hey, I think you mean when we get our hands on him. I was there when you threatened him if he did anything to her, we'll get through this." Janus said as she squeezed Alice's shoulder. She watched as Alice fought to calm herself down, and then released a deep sigh.

"I know." Alice took a couple of calming breaths before turning to the rest of the group. In front of her were more clones, but all of them had long hair pulled up into a ponytail near the top back of their heads. None of them had their names, but then none of them had personalities like Janus. "Let's go kick some ass."

* * *

Inside of Umbrella's Tokyo base, it descended into controlled chaos. Groups of Alice Clones broke off to take care of different levels and sections of this Hive. In short, they were destroying the base, as well as providing a tactical distraction so that the real Alice and her clone Janus could make their ways uninhibited down to where any captives would be held.

"So, she finally arrived," Wesker muttered as he stared at the monitors around him in the central intelligence hub. "about time. I want all available units to start blocking off all routes to the hanger, bar my private route through the cells. Someone, get ahold of that imbecile Olivera. It's time he found out that his little game is up." He barked to the officials around him, watching as they hurried to complete his orders.

* * *

Down on the detention level, Alice and Janus both hurriedly made their way through, stopping to check and see if they were being followed and if they were then quickly and quietly taking care of the opposing forces using shuriken and kunai. They both realized when they neared where Rayne was being kept, they could hear a steady pace of skin against skin, it sounded similar to when Alice would spar with Janus, except pained groans would follow. Both of them looked at one another as they broke out into a run. Alice and Janus both were shaking with barely contained rage as they busted into the cell where the noise was coming from. When they entered the room Alice didn't hesitate to fire a couple of rounds into Carlos's body. Her vision was tinted red with rage and unbridled hatred. Janus hastened forward to unchain the woman from the ceiling and lower her carefully to the floor. The woman was none other than the missing Rayne. Upon looking over her body the both of them noticed the cuts, scars, bruises, etc. The fact that Rayne had yet to acknowledge them at all had them worrying about her immensely.

"She's been unresponsive since our second week together, I suppose she gave up on anyone coming to find her." Carlos chuckled from where he had dragged himself against the wall, blood-streaked across the floor where he had dragged himself. "That's alright, I didn't want to hear her complain anyways, made it more enjoyable when she was limp." Carlos barked with a laugh as he grinned, blood coating his teeth slightly.

"What did you do to her?!" Alice shook with fury as she snarled at Carlos. Janus was busy trying to find something to cover Rayne to give her some semblance of decency.

"Oh, I had a little bit of fun with my toy, that's all. It's not like you care, Alice. After all, it was me that you were supposed to be with, not that abomination on the floor. I will admit she has some delicious uses, it's a shame she wasn't you though. I may not have effectively broken her spirit, but I know I broke her body." Carlos stated, making Alice shake as she stormed over and let her steel-toed boot fly into his face, making his head snap back and slam into the wall behind him.

"You sick son of a bitch! I told you I'd make you pay if you did anything to hurt her." She spat out, glaring at the pile of animal feces covered in human skin in front of her.

"You can always try, but I bet she enjoyed every minute of it. She now understands that no one can have you except for me and that she is NOTHING! Nothing, but a worthless cock sleave and cum dumpster. Something to be used and tossed aside like yesterday's newspaper." Carlos spat out a glob of blood as he sneered at the form of Rayne on the floor that Janus had gotten wrapped in a blanket, apparently Carlos had brought it for some reason today, but neither of them wanted to ask what for.

Alice screamed in barely contained fury as she swung her fist into his face, proceeding to break his nose and give him a pair of black eyes. She unloaded her hatred and anger on him, slamming her feet into his abdomen, and taking a small amount of pleasure out of the cracks that could be heard as she broke his ribs. It was no less than he deserved for what he had done to Rayne. If half of what he said was true, then she dreaded what the worst thing he did to her was, although she was beginning to understand that her deductive mind might be right, if her unresponsive form was anything to go by.

"Alice, I need to get Rayne out of here. The condition she is in makes her an easy target for both Umbrella operatives as well as the undead. She needs help, and Unfortunately, while this facility may have the items we would need, it's going to be blown up if you remember." Janus told Alice, getting her to shake off her berzerker rage.

"You're right." Alice huffed, "Take Rayne and get out of here, I'll deal with this asshole so he never bothers us again, and then I'll deal with Wesker. I'll meet you at the rendezvous point."

Janus nodded and carefully picked up Rayne. Alice walked over and handed her the PDA which contained the White Queen's conscious on it. Nodding her head Janus proceeded to follow the White Queen's directions to the service entrance, picking up a couple of the other Alice Clones along the way. They proceeded to help get the door open and cover them as they made their way to the surface, Carlos screams could be heard echoing back the way they came.

* * *

Janus, Rayne, and the Alice Clones managed to make it to the surface using the lift that was in the service entrance. That happened to cut down on the time it would have taken to get there totally on foot, it made getting to the rendezvous point a lot easier. They managed to find a vehicle that they hotwired and got running. Janus carefully placed Rayne into the back seat and the clones got in on either side of her to keep her safe while Janus drove the vehicle to the predetermined meeting point. The clones covered them out the side windows as they drove along, thankfully it seemed that a majority of them were attracted to the fighting at the Hive.

**15 minutes later**

They arrived at the rendezvous point and proceeded to wait for any sign of Alice. Janus and the clones proceeded to help Rayne out of the car and carefully sat her on the ground. Janus sat down beside Rayne and held her to her, Rayne tensed and started to push her away, but Janus started to calmly talk to her. She was letting her know that she was safe and that the didn't have to worry about Carlos anymore. Alice had taken care of the issue.

"Who..." Rayne uttered as she started to come back to reality, trusting her instincts when they told her that she was safe.

"My name is Janus. I'm the first clone that Alice met of herself. These two here are another couple of Alice's clones," The clones proceeded to wave at Rayne and then continued watching for any zombies. "You are as safe as you can be right now, we won't let anything hurt you, alright?" Janus asked.

"I started to think that no one was coming to get me, I had to shut myself away. I couldn't let myself feel...what he did to me." Rayne spoke, her voice broken and full of unshed tears. Janus's brow furrowed and she held Rayne closer, as she felt her start to cry finally releasing her pent up emotions. The relative peace was disturbed however as the clones spotted a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey erratically flying away from where the Hive was, and then the ground shook.

Janus, Rayne, and the clones watched as a massive ball of energy exploded outward from where the Hive was located and then imploded causing the ground to quake and a massive crater to form where the Tokyo Hive once stood. They turned and watched as the Osprey's erratic flying eventually nose dived straight down into the ground and exploded.

"Alice..."


	3. Survivors

**I know some may believe that the last chapter was probably emotional for some. I know it was rough for me to write, but with Carlos out of the way that makes it easier for Rayne to move on, at least for now. Who knows, if you've seen the movies then maybe Carlos will come back, but if he does, will he still be evil? **

**Disclaimer: As always I do not own the Resident Evil series of films, or any of their characters. I do however own all rights to my OC Rayne and any ideas for the named clone Janus and her part of the story.**

* * *

Alice, Janus, and Rayne were in a blue and white SR22 Cirrus aircraft. It was a 4 seater plane that they managed to find in an air hanger on some rich man's land. It wasn't like they needed it anymore anyway, as they were probably zombies. The plane was beautiful, and it honestly was a surprise that no one had taken it before they found it. Now, that the group was airborne they decided to head for Alaska in search of Arcadia.

The hope was that they would find the others safe and sound, but Rayne had her doubts. She grew up in Alaska for seven years of her life, and not once was there an Arcadia mentioned. She had a bad feeling that when they reached where Arcadia was supposed to be that they weren't going to find anyone there. Thankfully, after flying for a few weeks gathering supplies and working on getting Rayne to open up, Janus remembered the MP3 player that Alice kept ahold of. Kama and Kurt made the playlists that were on the device for Rayne, they even included a solar power bank to charge it. Rayne now used it pretty constantly and lost herself to the music, it seemed to be a form of escape for her so she didn't have to deal with what happened.

Alice wanted nothing more than to take Rayne into her arms and never let her go, but she realized that it would only push her away. They didn't end on the best of terms due to a misunderstanding and then Rayne was tortured by a psycho obsessed with Alice simply because she had feelings for her. It was easy to see that for some reason Rayne felt it was easier to talk to Janus than her, and it hurt. What she didn't realize was that Rayne didn't want to open up fully to Alice, because she didn't want her to feel guilty about it. None of it was her fault, but she knew that Alice wouldn't see it that way, so instead, she talked to Janus. Janus could have been considered Alice sister. They were similar enough that they could fool an unsuspecting person into thinking they were each other, but Janus had more of a humorous personality, as well as a deep-seated empathy for those around her. It was for those reasons that when Rayne talked to Janus that she felt at ease. She never forced her to talk about the more difficult stuff, and if she felt it was getting too hard on her then she diverted her attention with a joke or a story of the adventures she and Alice had on the way to Tokyo.

"We've been searching along the coast of Alaska for a couple of days now, Alice. Are you sure they even made it up here after you left them?" Janus inquired.

"The journal I found said that Arcadia was safe, with plenty of food and water. They had to have made it, Claire wouldn't fail. She's too damn stubborn for that, besides she made me a promise. She said she'd find me if I failed..." Alice trailed off, looking in the rearview mirror at Rayne and then focusing forward again.

"I know. I'm just saying are we even sure Arcadia exists?" Janus asked curiously.

"No, it doesn't. I lived in Alaska for the first seven years of my life, no such town exists. It could be a code name for something and not an actual town or anything that we are looking for, but I'm not sure." Rayne piped up from the back behind Janus.

"What?!" Alice and Janus shouted together.

"Uh...I thought I mentioned that...oops." Rayne said sheepishly to the two of them.

"So I sent them to a possible trap? Son of a bitch. I can't believe this shit." Alice swore.

"Hey now, they could be fine. It's as I said, it could just be a code name for a base someone set up, it isn't necessarily a trap. However, if we're looking at it logically, then it's probably a trap of some kind by Umbrella. That notebook was just way too convenient, it's why I left it behind at the gas station." Rayne said trying to placate Alice's descent into despair.

"Uh, hey guys. Isn't that an Umbrella chopper?" Janus asked as she pointed out the window to the ground below us.

"That's the chopper Claire took off in with some of the others!" Alice exclaimed. "Hold on, I'm going to land. Be on the lookout for any hostiles."

"Right." We both replied.

* * *

**After landing the plane and briefly looking around**

"It looks like they made it, but they were possibly pulled into boats, presumably to a larger one out at sea. It was a trap all along, and I lead them right to it." Alice stated, fists clenched to her sides in self-loathing.

"Hey, this isn't your fault. You didn't know, and I didn't even know you had that journal. No one is to blame for shitty circumstances." Rayne said as she walked over to Alice and slid her hands into Alice's. "Come on, we'll find them. You found me, so it's not impossible." She squeezed Alice's hands in reassurance as Alice turned to face her.

"Rayne...about what I said before...all of this. I..." Alice began, only to be interrupted by Janus.

"Guys, we're not alone. I just saw a shadow dart across the woods in that direction." She said pointing east towards the small airfield we saw from the sky.

"Let's go check it out it could be a survivor." Said Alice, as we both let go of the hands of each other.

We all grabbed a gun and took off in the direction of the mini airfield, careful to watch our surroundings in case zombies happened to be nearby. It was always better to be safe than sorry. As we got closer to the airfield, Rayne had an uncanny sense of Deja Vu course through her body. Somehow, this situation seemed very familiar, but off the top of her head, she couldn't place why. As they stepped into the airfield the air itself was still, which made them uneasy and amped up the tension that they already felt. Carefully, they began to look around in hopes of finding who or whatever had been watching them. They all split up while staying somewhat close to each other in case one of them needed help. Alice was looking through a C-FCLO Beechcraft E18S-9700 and was dive-bombed by bats or possibly birds when she opened the doors, jumping back in shock. She shook her head, hand to her chest, and chuckled. That was when she was tackled to the ground by a human blur.

"Ooof," Alice uttered as she was slammed into the ground by some woman.

"Alice!" Janus and Rayne said, rushing back towards her having heard the impact of her body on the ground and the following sounds of a struggle.

"I'm fine..." Alice said struggling not to kill the individual above her who seemed vaguely familiar, but all of the dirt on their body made it hard to identify them.

"Wait," Rayne said as they got back to Alice, making the person straddling her and trying to presumably kill her pause. Alice used this to her advantage and knocked her opponent out and rolled them off of her.

"Who the heck?" Alice inquired, getting to her knees and moving the hair of her assailant from their face.

"Claire!" Rayne and Alice exclaimed in shock.

"Why would she attack you though?" Rayne asked in confusion.

"Um, maybe the glowing red beetle attached to her chest?" Janus pointed out to both of them.

"Scarab." Rayne hissed, glaring at the monstrosity attached to her friend's chest. "That thing needs to be gotten rid of. It explains why she didn't recognize you, those damn things repress their host's memories over time and make them perfect puppets for whoever controls the Scarab. One of the creations of the Red Queen if anyone is interested to know."

"Have we told you that your sister was a homicidal bitch recently?" Janus asked the PDA at her side which held the White Queen.

"No, but the sentiment is noted. Your friend's memories will return in time, strong emotions may help them return quicker, but it is mostly a waiting game." The White Queen stated, sympathy coating her voice.

"Great." They all said, moving to restrain Claire and remove the Scarab from her chest.

* * *

**Several Hours Later**

Alice and Rayne were sitting on a couple of logs that the had dragged over to the plane they had tied Claire up too. They had started a small fire, while Janus went to try and find some game to cook for food. As they sat and waited for her return Claire started to groan and shift indicating that she was waking up. They watched as she came to and instantly started trying to struggle against her restraints and then spotted them, proceeding to glare.

"Welcome back to the realm of the living." Stated Alice blandly, getting an elbow to her side for her attitude.

"Who the fuck are you?" Claire inquired stilling as she stared at the people in front of her.

"You don't recognize us?" Alice genuinely asked.

"If I did, would I have asked?" Claire snarkily replied.

"Relax Alice, the White Queen said it would take some time for her memories to come back." Said Rayne massaging Alice's shoulder in sympathy.

"Yes, unless they were accompanied by strong emotions." Affirmed Alice.

"So you're Alice." Stated Claire taking a long look at her. "Well, emotionally I recognize you anyway. I feel a great deal of anger, small part jealousy, and a splash of guilt. Not that it explains anything though."

"That makes a lot of sense considering how we left things off the last time we saw one another. You had to knock some sense into my head that I was oblivious too. However, it made you reveal some things you probably would have rather I not known." Alice nodded, smiling sympathetically at Claire. "What about her?" Asked Alice nodding towards me.

"Do you mind coming a bit closer so I can see you easier?" Inquired Claire to Rayne, although she didn't remember it was her at the moment.

"Sure, not a problem Red." Replied Rayne, getting up and moving a bit closer to Claire. Claire, in turn, jerked in surprise at the nickname.

"Why do you call me that?" She asked, curiously. Looking up over at Rayne as she sat on the log closer to her that wasn't partially obscured by the fire.

"It's the nickname I came up with for you. It's inspired by your red hair and fiery attitude." Rayne chuckled. Now that Claire had a good look at her, she was surprised to note that she did recognize her, but the memory was very fuzzy.

"I recognize you, but it's all fuzzy. How do I know you, who are you?" Asked Claire in confusion. Alice noted that Claire had calmed down considerably once she started speaking to Rayne versus herself. Strong emotions were needed indeed.

"Hey, I managed to kill and gut a couple of rabbits for us to eat, Claire included when she wakes up." Said Janus as she reentered the campsite they set up. She started upon noticing that their guest was awake. "Oh, she's up. That wasn't so bad."

"Oh great, she's got a twin." Claire groaned letting her head fall back against the leg of the plane she was tied too.

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that, technically she is a clone of Alice, but they might as well be twins." Affirmed Rayne.

"I'd ask, but I have a feeling that it would only give me a headache at the moment." Grumbled the redhead.

"Probably a wise idea. As for how I know you, we kind of have a bit of history. Plus, I like to think we were pretty good friends before the Scarab was attached to you and your memoried repressed." Rayne shrugged.

"Is she treating you alright?" Inquired Claire motioning over to Alice. This caused Janus to start laughing, Alice to grumble, and Rayne to go pink in her cheeks.

"Um. Yeah, we're fine. Uh, what made you ask that so suddenly?" She inquired.

"Just a feeling I guess." Claire shrugged. As she looked between Alice and Rayne she had a couple of flash of memories pass through her mind. "Are you alright?"

"I will be." As Rayne looked at Claire she spotted a spark of the old Claire in her eyes and responded as she usually would, knowing that somehow Claire would understand her. Strong emotions were the trigger for her memories, she couldn't fully recognize Alice, but she recognized Rayne. There was something that Alice knew about Clare that she didn't and it made her feel lost.

"So. Who's hungry?" Asked Janus, holding the rabbits up for all to see.

* * *

**Five hours later in Los Angeles, California **

"Remind me again why we're flying this way along the coast?" Inquired Janus to the others in the plane.

"Claire remembered a boat at sea heading this way. That boat happens to contain the rest of our friends and I'll be damned if we don't get them back." Rayne glared ahead, poking Janus in the shoulder and motioning for a knife to untie Claire's bindings.

"Oh no, you have to ask Alice on that one. I'm not being on the receiving end of her glare, yours is bad, but do you know how weird it is seeing yourself angry with yourself?" She stated.

"No." Stated Alice without looking away from the controls.

"Too bad I wasn't asking." She said reaching into her boot and pulling out a knife which she used to free Claire's hands. "She's more than earned her freedom. You're just pissed because she handed you your ass due to whatever you both discussed before you went your separate ways."

"Thanks. Alice, I was justified." Stated Claire, looking at Alice knowingly.

"I know, don't remind me." Grumbled Alice.

While Claire had yet to recover a good portion of her memories, the ones which included Rayne and by extension Alice seemed to be the easiest to remember. Rayne had opened up to Claire as she was the one that was remembered the easiest at the current point in time. Alice was aware of some of what happened, as Rayne explained some of the scars and why they didn't heal, but none of them was aware from her perspective of the worst part of her torture. The plane became quite. at least up until Rayne noticed writing on the top of a building, followed by tiny people running on it and a flare being launched into the sky.

"Alice, try and land on that building there are survivors!" She exclaimed in shock.

"Buckle up everyone." Said Janus, making sure her seatbelt was in place.

"Here we go." Said Alice, as she maneuvered to descend. Here's hoping these people would be friendlier than others in the past. Claire herself buckled in and shook her head.

"Let the fun begin."


	4. Prison Life

**Alright, I have to admit that writing in third person all the time is very difficult. So, I'm switching to first-person writing. To clear up any confusion you will see the POV change when it isn't Rayne speaking in the first person. This will make it easier to write and probably understand. I will not be rewriting the previous three chapters, but I doubt that will be a massive problem. As always I own nothing in regards to the Resident Evil Series, the only people I own in this are my OC characters that I insert into the story. I hope you all enjoy the story. If you do, feel free to favorite and follow. Any comments both positive and negative are always welcome. I enjoy critics that make good points on how I can improve a story, or what they would like to see more of. **

**Warning: There is a possible trigger in here. If you can't stand cutting you may want to skip the dining hall and go to the dungeon.**

* * *

**Los Angelas, California The Citadel Correctional Facility Roof - After Landing**

"The names Luther West. Nice landing by the way." Luther spoke as he offered his hand to help Alice down from the plane.

"Technically I believe it's called crashing," Alice said, taking his hand and hopping down from the plane.

"I'd just like to state for the record that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing," I said, following after Alice and Janice.

"She has a point," Janice said, nodding towards me. Claire followed both of us out and onto the roof, she didn't say a word.

"Are the two of you sisters?" Luther inquired, motioning between Alice and Janice.

"Something like that." Alice and Janice looked at each other and spoke at the same time.

"Oooh. Twin speak. Cool." I giggled lightly. I made sure to stay close to Claire and away from the males, but I tried not to make it obvious.

"So, who are all of you?" Luther asked.

"Well, my name is Alice. My twin is Janice. Rayne is the dark blonde, while Claire is the redhead." Alice explained. We all nodded, except Claire, she just stood there with her arms crossed in front of her.

"She's not very talkative is she?"

"No, not really."

"Well, it's nice to meet all of you anyways." As Luther says this a few others come forward to meet the new people who landed on their roof. Claire used this to her advantage and snuck away unseen, though she kept an eye on Rayne, not entirely sure of why though.

"Hi, my name is..." A young and boisterous woman came forward to introduce herself, only to be rudely shoved aside by a greasy-haired git who looked like he used to be someone, but now wasn't. His sudden intrusion caused Rayne to tense up, her breathing seeming more strained than before as she fought to remain calm. It wasn't that she didn't think she could take him if something went wrong, but it was the overbearing presence he had at the moment accompanied by his bossiness that was causing her to have flashbacks to less than pleasant memories. Janice who was next to her carefully maneuvered herself in front of Rayne, seeming to calm her down a bit as it worked to block a bit of the man from her view.

"Enough introductions! Are you here to help us or not?" The man asked.

"Yeah, can you get you out?" spoke a younger Asian man who had been following the older man at a close distance.

"Are you from Arcadia?" inquired the perky young woman who had been shoved aside earlier.

"Wait, what did you say?" Alice asked, stunned.

"Are you from Arcadia?" the girl repeated.

"What do you know about Arcadia?" Janice asked next.

"They said they could help us." spoke the young man from earlier.

"There are other survivors...civilizations and safety."

"Infection free."

"So? Did they send you?" the greasy git asked again getting impatient.

"No," I spoke up from slightly behind Janice. "They did not." The group looks to be in shock or denial. Perhaps it was a combination of the two.

"No?" he spoke again.

"But there are others? Out there. Like you?" the young man inquired.

"I'm sorry, but it's been just us for a while," I said, morosely.

"You mean this is it?" greasy said again, everything seems to finally set in.

"There's to be no rescue?" spoke the young woman, desperation and despair tinging her vocals.

"Just you lot...and a broken plane." uttered greasy in disgust turning and walking away.

"Well then...fuck you too," I muttered under my breath glaring daggers at the greasy bat.

"I am sorry," Alice spoke, frowning as she looks to the retreating group. I took the time to walk off, I wandered over to the central wall of the building holding the elevator and stairs and leaned against it. Even after the incident, I had only been around females, so I never really got passed what happened. Logically I knew that not everyone was like Carlos, but I had never felt so weak and powerless as I had when he held me captive. I had long since gotten my abilities back and I knew that I could defend myself, but only so long as I didn't freeze up. Until I worked through what happened I would freeze if things got too bad or I was locked in with a man. I hated that I knew I was so weak but as much as I hated that, I hated knowing I was pulling away from Alice. I was afraid that if she realized what had happened, that she would want nothing to do with me anymore.

* * *

**Back with Alice, Janice, and the two males**

"Don't take it so bad, they got their hopes up," said Luther reassuringly.

"Thought you could take them to the promised land," spoke Luther's companion offering his hand to Alice for a handshake. "Angel Ortiz. That was some fine flying."

"Military?" asked Alice, taking in Angels heavily tattooed forearm.

"Used to be. 57th Airborne. Thought my shooting days were over." Angel then looked towards the swarm of undead outside the prison walls. "I guess I was wrong."

"I guess we're all in the Army now," Luther said, causing Alice took look at him curiously.

"You know, I have the strangest feeling that I know you."

"I get that a lot. You a sports fan?"

"Not really."

"Then maybe just a fan of Gatorade." Luther steps to one side revealing a view of the building across from the prison. One entire wall of the building is a giant billboard featuring Luther West in his NBA gear. In his hand is a bottle of Gatorade and he promises that it will deliver Star Power.

"Luther here is our resident Superstar," Angel says, nudging Luther good-heartedly in the side.

"Yeah, life was good," Luther says nostalgically.

"So, tell us about Arcadia. What do you know?" Janice asked, getting straight to the point.

"Just what we've heard from their transmissions. We've been receiving their broadcasts all week. Food and shelter, safety, security, and most of all no infection." Angel said to both Alice and Janice. While they were chatting I had calmed down enough to start heading back over.

"We thought they'd sent you. That's why we were launching the flares." Luther explained.

"Flares? No one is going to see flares from Alaska." Alice spoke, looking at Janice confused.

"Now you've lost me." Luther looked at Alice and Janice in confusion.

"Arcadia, I've been there. It's a town in Alaska, or so we thought." Alice said.

"You mean you thought. I knew that Arcadia didn't exist as a town in Alaska. If I had to hazard a guess since you were launching flares and California rests facing an ocean, you saw a ship. If I take my guess further then it has to be quite large, likely a cargo ship of some kind to hold everyone and the cargo they claim to have. So, how accurate am I?" I spoke, stepping up beside Janice and next to Angel. Surprisingly, Angel didn't set off my emotional unease.

"Come with me." Angel acknowledged me, then motioned over to a workbench of sorts facing the water.

"Are your friends alright?" motioning to Claire and I, inquired Luther.

"They've both been through some horrifying experiences. Some take time to get over, while it takes time for others to regain memories." Janice explained.

They watched in silence as I told Angel to hold on a second and went over to Claire's side. She was standing near the edge of the building facing the ocean. Her face was scrunched up in concentration, she was trying to fight the remnants of the drugs in her system and remember something. They looked on as I got her to look at me and we talked a little, before turning and heading back towards Angel and them. Alice and Janice both felt bad for Claire, but Alice, in particular, felt a twinge of jealousy because I seemed to be closer to Claire even now with her memory in pieces. They all joined up beside Angel looking out at the sea at his observation station.

"Angel handles observation and communications. No one can get that radio to work except for him." Luther said smiling at Angel in good-natured humor.

"Take a look," Angel said, rolling his eyes and handing the binoculars on the desk to Alice.

"Arcadia..." Alice uttered, looking through the binoculars and at an abandoned freighter on the water. Across the side of the ship at the front was the name Arcadia.

"Is it too late to say I told you so?" I asked causing Janice to laugh.

"So how long ago did the transmissions stop?" Janice inquired looking at Angel.

"Two days ago. We've been sending out flares every night since." Luther explained.

"That's why when we saw you, we surmised they may have sent you," Angel said, they all paused as they noticed Claire standing back at the edge of the building facing the ocean, or more specifically the Arcadia.

"Claire, are you alright?" I asked, having an idea of what may be going on inside of her head. Claire turned towards them, clarity in her eyes that wasn't there previously. The drug is now almost completely out of her system, and with its dismissal, her memories are returning.

"Arcadia, I remember." She said hesitantly.

"What? You can tell us." Janice encouraged.

"I remember the beach and a boat." Claire's eyes seemed to glaze over as she let her mind drift off into her memories. "I remember people coming to help us."

"What happened? Why didn't you go with the others?" As Alice asks this, Luther and Angel are left to wonder what happened to the people before them. It didn't escape their notice how I had tenses up when the greasy-haired man started interrogating us, how Janice had stepped slightly in front of me as if to shield me from harm, or how I walked away briefly when everyone else had dispersed.

"I...don't know." Claire lamented, that part of her memory still lost to the remaining drugs in her system.

* * *

**Hours Later**

"You hungry?" Luther asked Alice, as we all started to head inside once the outside had been lit up.

"Starving." laughed Alice. Her voice light, something it hadn't been in quite some time. It made my stomach twist into knots knowing someone else was making her laugh like that, even though it was my fault.

"Let me buy you dinner, I know this great place. Real romantic." Luther charmed, and while it was said in jest, I couldn't help but glare at him from afar. Something that did not escape Angel, Claire, or Janice's notice. Claire, however, was the one to walk over to me and give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

* * *

**Dining Hall**

Inside of the prison was lit by blazing torches, similar to the fortress walls outside. As they descended the stairs they could hear quiet talking approaching the dining hall. While the entire place may have been quite barren due to the lack of inhabitants, it was nice to see other people for a change. The group wandering up to the cook over in the corner of the room.

"Step right up, plenty for all." The energetic young woman from earlier says as she cooks over an indoor campfire. Luther hands out plates to everyone behind him

"Crystal's our cook. The menu's not extensive, but she's a master at what she does." I noticed the chalkboard above the now named Crystal. It read 'Tonight and Everynight - Eggs!' which was kind of a little funny.

"I hope you like them spicy." Crystal said, ladling eggs onto each of our plates. I had an extra one for Claire since she went to sit down.

"As long as it's spice from black pepper or cayenne and not jalapenos or something of that nature," I said. "My stomach doesn't agree well with those."

"No worries, It's just seasoning, so you should be good." Crystal reassured me. I then went to sit down by Claire and handed her the tray I grabbed for her.

"It's eggs, by the way, if you weren't sure," I said to Claire.

"Thanks." She said.

"How's your memory?"

"Flashes and Fragments. Nothing that makes any sense." They chat quietly listening as Luther explains to Alice who the others are and what their backstories may be.

Janice sat with Angel and they both ate in silence. I ate a bit, but soon found my appetite deteriorating at the obvious flirting of Luther. It wasn't helped by the fact that it didn't look like Alice was turning him away. I gave my food to Claire, then walked away, going to sit down out of their line of sight on the stairs where no one could see me. I sat there and contemplated how I was feeling, rolling up the sleeves on my arms, taking the small pocket knife out of my boot and staring at it. I flipped it open, laying the blade against the top of my left forearm.

I sat there feeling the coolness of the blade against my skin and wondered if I should do it. I looked up and listened to the murmurs of the place and Luthers flirting, I let the blade cut into my skin. I felt the blade drag through a couple of different times, watching the blood drip down my arm and pool on the stairs at my feet. I hadn't realized it, but I had silent tears streaming down my face as I cut myself. I was unsure how long had passed, but when I looked down, the blood had started to coagulate and dry on my skin. I wiped off my blade onto my pants, putting it back into my boot.

I then yanked down my sleeves and wiping at my face as I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up noticing Alice and Luther heading down the stairs somewhere, I decided to follow them. Luther led the way down the stairs and into a corridor barely lit by blazing torches which seemed to have been jammed into what used to be light fittings.

* * *

**Dungeon**

"Welcome to the dungeon," Luther says, taking an unlit torch and sticking it into a barrel of dark liquid. "Motor oil, it doesn't smell good, but it burns a while." He then lights it on fire. He motions for Alice to follow him as he walks past a sign that read 'Maximum Security Block'.

I stayed far enough back that they wouldn't easily notice me, but close enough that I could hear them speaking. They holed up in the prison when shit hit the fan because it had the biggest and strongest walls around, plenty capable of keeping the infected out. When they got here guards and inmates had already left, which was a bonus for them. I watched as he pushed open a steel door and talked to a short and balding man named Wendell. I instantly didn't like Wendell based on his twitchy manners and how he stared at Alice. I also took note of the giant cell in the room. As Alice, Luther, and Wendell went to inspect the source of the noises he was hearing, I stepped closer to the box.

"Oh yeah, Wendell's delightful company." A voice spoke from within the cell, making me move into what little light was around to get a better view inside. "And now he hears things moving in the walls."

The figure from within the cell steps forward into the light. He's a powerfully built man in his early thirties. Hard, calculating eyes. Roguish good looks (If you're into that), not entirely trustworthy. A week's stubble only accentuates his strong jawline.

"And they think I'm crazy." He jokes smiling. "The names Chris." He extends his hand between the bars for a handshake.

"Pleasure, meeting you Chris." I shook his hand, finding something oddly familiar about his face which sets me at ease. "The name's Rayne."

"You were one of the ones flying that plane from earlier." He said pulling his hand back into his cell.

"How'd you know?"

"Wendell isn't the only one that hears things. That couldn't have been an easy landing, that roofs can't be longer than 250 feet."

"Try more like 230 feet, roughly."

"Well regardless, I'm glad you and your group made it. Perhaps you can talk some sense into these people."

"What do you mean?" I asked cocking my head to the side as I stared at him, occasionally scratching at my arm as the dried blood was beginning to itch.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm not a prisoner. I shouldn't be in here." he explained.

"Alright, let's just say I believe you because for some reason you seem a little familiar. How did you end up here, let alone in there?" I asked genuinely curious.

Chris goes on to explain about his unit and their objective in the prison. He explains using the prisoners as a way to defend themselves because they were running low on manpower. He goes into detail about the prisoners jumping him and stuffing him into the cell as a good laugh while they all left without him. As he talks I look for any telltale signs of lying and find none. Either he believes he's telling the truth, or he is telling the truth which isn't as reassuring as I'd like it to be.

"You don't believe me, do you," Chris says, his face falling slightly.

"I might be the only one who does. I'll see what I can do about getting you out, but I won't make any promises. It's not going to be easy getting them to let you out, but for right now that cell might be the safest place for you, believe it or not. The zombies are evolving, mutating. They get stronger, smarter, faster every day. New strains seem to be popping up and we don't know what they all can do. I have an unfortunate hunch that Wendell might not be as crazy as you hope." I stated, carefully walking away back the way I came before the approaching footsteps of Alice, Luther, and Wendell reach the cell.

* * *

**Cell Block B (Alice Pov)**

The survivours have started using the cellblock as a makeshift dormitory. It has easy access to showers, although the water is probably cold due to not having an active boiler. A makeshift laundry area, how else were they supposed to make sure their clothes stayed relatively clean with everything going on. In one particular cell, Claire is fast asleep. She's sleeping beneath her bed. While in the opposite cell the top mattress had been maneuvered to hide the corner where Rayne lay sleeping, hidden from prying eyes. The illusion of safety. Alice, Janice, and Luther watched them.

"What is it that happened to your friends?" Luther inquired, genuinely curious.

"Claire was afflicted with this thing." I showed him the scarab. "When we found her it had been injecting some type of drug into her system. It took away her memories, now that it's off they are starting to return. They're fragmented but intact. She's been alone for a long time."

"I'm guessing she isn't the only one." He said giving me a pointed look.

"I wasn't always." I sighed looking over to Rayne's cell. "She was taken from me, us. It was weeks before I could even get to her. She was tortured by a guy who I thought was a good man, and he may have been at one point. However, he was obsessed with me. When he learned he couldn't have me because I had feelings for someone else he took her. He took her and tortured her for weeks while I tried to find where he took her. Then I had to figure out how to get to her, I'll never forgive myself for what he did. None of this would have happened to her if I had only paid closer attention to what I said." Janice stepped up beside her and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"It isn't your fault. You guys had a communication error, it happens. You sometimes feel things and don't dwell on them long and think it should be obvious, whereas she feels things too strongly, and worries that they are too obvious." Janice explained.

"What did he do to her?" Luther asked, starting to get a bad feeling, remembering how skittish Rayne was around certain men and how she would glare at him when he talked to Alice and she thought no one was looking.

"We don't know for sure. When we found her she was a mess. Her body is littered in scars now, physical and mental. I have an idea of what was done to her, but I don't want to bring it up in case it triggers a relapse. When we found her she was essentially catatonic. She was conscious, but she was trapped in her mind to protect herself. What he did to her to cause that, I don't want her to remember, but I know she has to start to move on and stop freezing up." Janice explained, looking worriedly into Rayne's cell before they walked away down the cells to another pair of opposite open cells.

"Do you think he raped her?" Luther asked, his voice hinging on concern and rage.

"Yes," Janice said bluntly, curious as to why Luther was reacting the way he was. She watched as Luther walked into an open cell and took and stacked the top and bottom bunks mattresses against the wall, then proceeded to pummel them into submission. His face contorted in rage and grief, he grunted and growled, ending with a strong strike and laid his head against the top mattress allowing his breathing to quiet down. When he was done he walked back out to face Janice and I. Our eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Sorry...sorry. It's just.." He trailed off running his hand over his face and pinching his nose. "When I was younger, like I told you earlier I used to get into trouble. My dad managed to straighten me out, but that didn't stop trouble from finding us. One of the guys I used to run with still ran with the wrong crowd, and one of them took a liking to my sister, there was maybe a year or two difference between us so we were pretty close. She was on her way back from a friend's house when he took her. By the time my old friend knew what had happened and told us; when we got to her it was already too late. He had been raping her nonstop for weeks. She wasn't the same when we got her back home. She locked herself away and refused to open up to my dad or I. Days later we forced the door open because she refused to answer, both her wrists had been cut and she was lying in her tub an empty bottle of pills on the floor. She killed herself to escape what had been done to her."

Janice and I looked at each other, glancing back down the hallway at Rayne's cell. Janice nodded and went to go check, just to see if anything had happened. Meanwhile, I let Luther pull himself together, it couldn't have been easy to remember that. It didn't take long for Janice to return, but the look on her face wasn't one I was looking to see. I started to panic when she reached out and grabbed my arm stopping me from running back to check on her myself.

"She's fine, at least she's still alive anyway. I took this from beside her." Janice said opening her palm and showing me Rayne's pocketknife, dried bits of blood stained the blade edge. It had been used recently. I started shaking my head, not wanting to believe it.

"No, she wouldn't. She's stronger than that. He sliced her hand with the katana her mother gave her and she didn't even blink." I babbled, trying to make sense of it all. Luther grabbed my shoulder and shook it.

"If she is alive, then you have a better chance to save her than we did with my sister." Luther looked at Janice. "Did you see where she cut herself?"

"The tops of her forearms, both forearms were covered by her sleeves, but the sleeves themselves were dark in color and refused to budge without catching. The rest of the sleeve is still light in color. Her left thigh on the top is also stained slightly, so I would guess it wasn't cut as badly or deeply." Janice explained, seeming torn with what to do in this situation.

"Alright. While it's not good, it's the location of the cuts that is. It means she's not trying to end her life, she's trying to escape by overriding the pain of her memories with pain in real life. Has she tried to talk to either of you about what happened?" Luther queried, now better understanding the situation and Rayne's role in regards to me based on my reaction.

"She seems to be pulling away from me. I probably don't help that as I keep waiting for her to come to me." I explained, feeling like an idiot for not realizing sooner what the issue was.

"She tells me some things, about how he would hit her and scar her. Hoping to make it so no one would ever want her again." Janice said, looking to me as if apologizing for the fact that Rayne felt more comfortable going to her than to me. Admittedly I was hurt.

"If I had to guess I would wager she's going to you because of her feelings for Alice, it would explain why she didn't seem all that pleased by my flirting. If looks could kill I'd be dead by now. So going based on how she feels for Alice it also explains why she hasn't talked to you. She may be feeling ashamed, and in a small way, her torturers' message about no one wanting her may have taken root. In a way you waiting for her to come to you may have helped this along, she may see it as you pulling away and not wanting anything to do with her now that she is 'damaged goods' in a word." Luther explained to me, making me feel even worse knowing that I had unknowingly been making Rayne's recovery worse.

"I didn't know. Gods, Claire is going to kick my ass when she remembers everything." I groaned, leaning my head against the wall. "Just when I think I've got everything under control, I still miss the obvious. She never consciously thinks about herself, she always worries about others. Of course, she'd worry how I'd see her."

"At least now we know what we can do to help her." Janice encouraged.

"I'll help any way I can, starting with not flirting with you. I don't want to deal with an angry girlfriend once she gets better." Luther said trying to lighten up the mood.

"She's/They're not dating." Alice and Janice said simultaneously.

"Oh, just mutual feelings then. So where does Claire fit into this?"

"Claire is in love with Rayne, who is in love with Alice, who loves Rayne, but was kidnaped before Alice could tell her once Claire knocked some sense into her," Janice explained helpfully.

"Thanks..." I grumbled.

"It doesn't help that she told me if I hurt her again she'd kick my ass." I groaned. It also didn't help that I was in love with Rayne, but also had feelings for Claire somehow. Before the apocalypse, I never would have let myself feel like this.

"Let's all get some sleep. We can figure out the rest in the morning yeah?" Luther said. "These two are your cells, see you two in the morning. I've got a surprise for you guys." He said walking away.

"I've grown to hate surprises," I said looking at Janice who nodded in agreement.


	5. Unexpected Surprise

**The last chapter was about twice as long as it usually is. I apologize in advance for the difference in length you may see for a while. Some chapters may be longer than others, or they may be the same length give or take some hundred words. I hope I didn't scare anyone away with the darker undertones of the last chapter, but they were things that need to be talked about. The darker notes will be sticking around for the foreseeable future, at least for right now. There aren't any trigger warnings in this one, as I will skip over the memories of what happened to Rayne. **

**Disclaimer: As always I don't own the Resident Evil series, the movie or the game. There are times when I wish I did. Now, onward to the story my friends, and remember to aim for the head!**

* * *

**Later that night in Rayne's Cell (Back to Rayne's Pov)**

I jerked awake suddenly, a silent scream frozen in my lungs. My hand wrapped around the gun I had placed beneath my pillow. I took a moment to slow my breathing and take in my surroundings. I almost jumped out of my skin again when I spotted Claire sitting down on the bed frame next to my makeshift hideaway.

"You were a close friend of mine, right?" Claire asked for clarification. While she did remember me more clearly than most, it stood to reason that it was always better to ask for confirmation after the shit she'd been through. Sometimes it gets hard to tell what's real from what's not.

"Of course. I'd like to say I was your best friend, but I believe that the position was filled by K-mart and LJ." I joked, my heart calming down noticing it was only Claire around.

"Was I a good person? I can't remember fully." She asked, her voice tinged with longing and anguish that could only come from not being able to remember who you were except in fractures pieces.

"The best, why would you ask?"

"I just...I have a feeling I let people down." This made me snort.

"You didn't let anyone down if anyone feels that way it's me. I'm probably the worst failure there is right now." I tugged at my sleeves wincing as the pulled away from my skin. Once I had them loose, I pulled the sleeves up and let them get some air. Claire saw what I did and quickly grabbed one of my arms.

"Why? Why would you do something like this?" She seemed pissed and more than a little bit worried about me. It made me smile, remembering how she was when she had her whole memory. Which then made me frown, I remembered that I couldn't feel the same about her as she did for me. Not because I didn't have feelings for her, but because I also loved Alice and it would feel like I was cheating if I acknowledged how I felt about someone else as well. Even in an apocalypse, I reeled in my feelings because of how society would view someone with more than one partner, even if they all agreed.

"We struggle, we fight, we watch our friends and loved ones die." I shrugged. "Survival is pain."

"Is it worth it? The pain?" Claire asked, her eyes asking an unspoken question.

"Someone has to go on. Otherwise what is all of this for?" I replied, my voice tired and sad. "Get some sleep Claire, you'll need it in the morning."

* * *

**The Tower (Nighttime)**

I explored the empty prison alone, unable to get any more sleep. I had briefly stopped by Alice's cell and just watched her for a little while, taking in the peaceful rise and fall of her chest as she slept. It gave me a sense of peace, knowing she was alright. I could barely sense the T-Virus from within her, likely caused by whatever Wesker did to her in the plane before the crash. She and I had two very different strains of the virus. When she bonded to it, it was at a cellular level, easily removed or overwhelmed by a cure. On the other hand, there was me, mine was at a genetic level. It bonded to my DNA it was a part of me, much like my hair color was a dirty blonde and my eyes blue. It could be suppressed, but never removed. As I moved around my boots echoed down the empty hallways and cell blocks. Dark and desolate, it was spooky as all hell.

"Light sleeper?" Luther spoke up from behind me, making me jump out of my skin.

"Fucking, Jesus Christ. Don't do that. God damn." I turned to see Luther sitting in the shadows, wide awake and keeping vigil. "I guess you could say that. I've been having problems falling asleep lately."

"I know the feeling." Luther seemed to sympathize, getting to his feet. "Come on, I want to show you something."

"Uh, alright?" I guessed anything was better than just wandering around aimlessly.

* * *

**The Boiler Room (Nighttime)**

"It's not exactly how it was designed to work," Luther says throwing wood onto a roaring fire. A makeshift bonfire had been erected beneath one of the water heaters. "but it does get the job done."

"It may not have been the intended way for them to be used, but if it makes hot water, who am I to complain." I shrugged, for some reason noting that Luther was acting nicer and less like a playboy than before.

* * *

**Shower Block (Nighttime)**

Luther proceeded to show me the way to the showers. There was row upon row of communal showers. One of which was on already. The tepid water steaming in the night air. I looked around appreciating the subtle normality of it all.

"This is pretty nice, quite civilized in fact," I said impressed.

"I wouldn't call it exactly hot, but we do our best. I plan to show your friends this when they wake up later." He said, placing some towels down beside the stall. "These are for you."

"Thanks, but why are you being so nice to me? Earlier you were all over Alice." I was curious to know.

"You look like you've been through some things that many people wouldn't understand. Plus I got told off by Janice that Alice is not exactly available. So even if I was interested, I know better than to go after someone else girl." Luther explained, giving me a pointed look.

"She...we aren't...I mean I'm not..." I stuttered, face blooming into a blush. "I haven't exactly been able to tell her how I feel, and even less so after recent events." I calmed down feeling put out.

"Hey, whatever it is that happened you just need to talk to her. Shutting her out will only hurt both of you, and probably those around you as well." He said knowingly, the tone causing me to tense up and stare at him searchingly.

"You know...no...no no. How do you know?" I started to panic now, my breathing coming out fast and short, I was having a panic attack.

"Woah! Woah, Woah Woah. Easy now. I know...I know because it happened to my sister." Luther said carefully walking towards me making sure not to spook me too badly. "Only she wasn't as strong as you. When we got to her she was already dead. She had given up on living, we just didn't know it yet. You though, you haven't given up trying. Just by being part of a group and moving day by day you keep fighting what happened and try to move on. You are so much stronger than my sister was." Luther had reached me by now and carefully pulled me into his arms rocking me back and forth as we sank to the ground, I dissolved into a crying mess in his arms.

Unbeknownst to them, Wendell had been hiding in the shadows hoping to get a peek at some of the girls when they were showering. What he hadn't counted on, however, was seeing one of the new people have a break down in Luther's arms about something in her past. So Wendell decided to quietly excuse himself from the room only to be met by a gun to the side of the head, and ushered into the room for Luther and me to see.

"Wendell, what the hell?" Luther inquired, holding me and being shocked to see his friend held at gunpoint by none other than Claire.

"He was planning on peeping in on anyone looking to get a shower, more than likely the women. Guess he had a slight guilty conscious when he saw Rayne have a panic attack." She explained, anger tinging her voice as she spoke about women getting showers. Ah, she was angry he could have seen me and others getting washed. I wiped my face off and stood up with the help of Luther.

"Claire it's alright. Let the sad peeping tom go, he didn't see anything. I'm sure Luther and Angel would make sure he never did again." I coaxed to Claire. She seemed to calm down and shoved Wendell away from her and to the ground.

"Get out of my sight." Claire bit out, uncaring that he seemed to have landed in a scuttling pile of roaches and bugs on the floor.

"Oh shit!" Wendell jumps to his feet vigorously brushing the bugs from his person and viciously crushing the ones on the floor beneath his feet. "Little fuckers!"

We watched in stunned horror as Wendell stepped back and into the waiting arms of the zombie we just noticed emerge from what seemed like nowhere. Upon closer inspection, it looked to have dug its way up through the earth. Its fingers were broken and bloody from the journey, its nails have gone completely. Its clothes were torn and filthy, and dozens of bugs that had crawled from the earth with it scuttled across its body. It was a ghastly sight indeed.

"Shit..." Wendell uttered as the zombie moved with lightning-fast reflexes, grabbing Wendell and pulling him in. The creature's jaws and lower face split open to reveal a set of mandibles. Claire tried to get a clear shot but was unsuccessful as Wendell was moving too much. Wendell's screams were soon silenced by the creatures mandibles crunching into his face and swallowing his head. He was still alive when he was drug back into the shadows by the mutated zombie when a hoard of them rushed forward from where the other one disappeared. They were incredibly fast, and very hungry.

I snap to and grab my gun from my side holster, instantly making my way to Claire and both of us going back to back to cover each other on instinct. Somethings are just muscle memory, even with the real ones slow to return. Luther races to get a better weapon of his own, staying close to cover us if needed, he returns with Wendell's old gun. It seemed he must have left it behind when Claire caught him leaving. We watched as the tide of small bugs and roached accompanying this new undead swept across the ceiling above us.

As the undead lunged at us, their mandibles spread wide, we all dove to one side, narrowly avoiding getting caught. We all fired any chance we got, all missing, all but one having done so accidentally. If you looked closely in one of the corners was one of the barrels used to keep motor oil for the blazing torches. The shots I had fired pierced holes throughout the drum. The motor oil hemorrhages across the floor.

"Get back!" I shouted to Claire and Luther, as I focused my fire on the metal grating at our feet, causing sparks to fly and igniting the motor oil. The ensuing flames engulfed the undead.

"Behind me," Luther called, and with Claire's help be pushed over another barrel of oil adding more fuel to the roaring inferno in front of us. Claire, Luther and I watched as some of the undead staggered and fell. While still more of the blazing creatures disappeared down a gaping hole in the floor. Several of the blazing creatures attempt to charge towards us but are easily dispatched by Claire and myself. One gets passed, but is quickly killed by Luther, it lands by his feet dead.

* * *

**Shower Room - Minutes Later**

Luther then nudges the burnt corpse away from himself and we all survey the room. The shower room is covered with smoking undead remains.

"Nice work, I knew I liked you guys," Luther said with a smile, making me shake my head and give a watery laugh at the absurdity of it all. Poor Claire just seemed a tad lost, but shook her head anyways. Everyone had since been drawn in by the sound of gunfire, Alice and Janice looking at Claire and me worriedly. I shrugged and we all looked down the giant hole in the floor.

"The fuck is that smell?" asked Bennett, the greasy slimeball.

"They must have burrowed their way up from the sewers," Alice said calculatingly.

"Wendell did say he heard things moving behind the walls," Luther explained.

"Well, he wasn't wrong." Janice piped up wrinkling her nose at the rancid smell the hole was emitting.

"So those things could burst out anywhere?!" Bennett exclaimed.

"If there's more of them," Angel replied.

"Oh, there'll be more of them," Bennett said snidely.

"It pains me to admit, but he is right. There is no other food source around for them, meanwhile here we are all boxed in and waiting to be eaten. No offense of course." I supplied to the rest, greatly diminishing any hope they had that this was all of them.

"We have to get out of this place!" Kim Yong says, panic rising among the group.

As the group descends into panicked chaos I note that Bennett seems oddly calm. I shake my head and quickly grab ahold of the groups' attention before things become worse. I then lead them down into the Dungeon to meet an old acquaintance. Out of everyone Bennett and Kim Yong seem to be the most vocal about this being a very bad idea.

* * *

**Dungeon (Approaching Daylight)**

"Are you fucking crazy? Who knows what that man's done!" Bennett exclaimed, practically spitting venom.

"Honestly, I doubt he's done anything more than becoming a victim of right place wrong time. If you know what to look for it's pretty easy to tell when someone's lying, tell me. Did any of you even bother trying to talk to him and get his side or did you just assume that because he was in a Maximum Security Cell that he must have deserved it?" I already knew the answer, but I wanted to see how they'd react.

"They didn't want him getting out!" Kim Yong reiterated proving my point.

"He's dangerous!" Bennett exclaimed.

"It is the blind leading the blind with you two isn't it," I said, not expecting an answer. Chris just sat patiently in his cell, waiting for the arguing to stop and his cell to be opened.

"Angel, what do you think?" Luther asked his friend.

"I think we don't have much choice," Angel replied, shrugging his shoulders. "No offense, Rayne. I just don't know you well enough to trust your judgment if it weren't for extenuating circumstances."

"I'd like to say none taken, but some were taken," I replied honestly.

"It's alright, we trust you," Janice said, reassuringly.

"It's him we don't trust." Alice backed up, looking pointedly at Chris and Bennett.

I nod, getting the key from Angel. I can hear Bennett annoying the crap out of him in the background and I honestly feel bad. I wondered if anyone would mind if I locked Bennett inside in exchange...yeah, it might be frowned upon. Once I had the key plugged into place I turned it until I heard the lock disengage, then I slid the bar from the door on this side and opened it. Chris calmly stepped out and walked over to Bennett, leaning down beside his face.

"Boo!" The girlish shriek that emitted from Bennett had everyone smiling at his humiliation.

"Alright then, let's get the hell out of here," Alice says ushering everyone out of the room and back towards the staircase. Claire and I walk beside one another, Alice and Janice close behind. Chris is following behind us when he stops dead as soon as he spots Claire, he looks as if he's seen a ghost.

"Claire?!" He's stunned, upon closer inspection when looking between the two individuals it is easy to see that they are related, likely brother and sister.

Claire herself seems to be confused, then she focuses on his face. Her eyes seem to glaze over as they did on the roof meaning she was lost to her memories. What takes only a few moments, probably felt like forever for Claire.

"Chris!" Claire exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace her brother, overjoyed to find him alive. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"It would take more than the end of the world to keep me from my little sister," Chris said softly, hugging Claire to himself. I couldn't imagine the pain he must have gone through emotionally not knowing if she was alive or dead for all this time.

"Isn't that sweet," Bennett said disgustedly, making me turn and deck him in the face. He crumpled to the floor holding his nose and whining about it being broken, only Kim Yong seemed to really care are I turned back to the family reunion. Claire turned towards us and stared at first Alice, and then lingered on me.

"I remember now, we were friends. Albeit not the closest. I see you kept your promise." Claire said to Alice as she removed herself from her brother's arms.

"It wasn't easy, and there were hiccups, but yeah, I did. It's good to have you back Claire." Alice reassured, holding no hard feelings for how things ended between them. Claire then carefully walked over and stood in front of me.

"Hey, Red. Good to finally have you all there again." I said, unsure of how she would react to how I have been since she saw me again. Claire stared into my eyes, and then carefully took in my forearms and leg. Her eyes missing nothing as they noted how tired I seemed or it all.

"You look like shit. I'm glad she got you back from him, I...I doubt I'd have been able to keep my end of the promise had she failed. I'm so so sorry that he got you on my watch. It never should have happened, I should have let Chase of LJ take care of him hen I had the chance." Claire started beating herself up over it and i just pulled her into a hug, her face tucked into my chest.

"Hey, now none of that. You did what you thought was right at the moment. None of us knew just how insane he had gotten. Nothing, I repeat, nothing that happened to me was your fault. You don't get to blame yourself for something out of your control." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Pushing Claire away enough so I could see her face. "To be honest...I should take my own advice. Just...just be here, like Alice, Janice, Luther and them are when I need you. It...it wasn't fun what I went through. Actually, for a while I thought about ending it all if I ever got free."

"Don't you dare!" Claire demanded, temporarily forgetting about blaming herself to be mad at me for my thoughts.

"I won't not now. Do you want to know what stopped me from going through with it back then?" I enquired.

"What?" Asked Janice, backed by Alice and Luther.

"I remembered you, Alice, K-mart, LJ, Kama, and everyone else. I remembered why I was fighting in the first place because I had people who needed me. I couldn't afford to give up, because they wouldn't give up on me. I knew when I came too and he had taken me that you guys would turn the world upside down trying to find me. I'd do the same for you. So I fought. Physically and partially emotionally he broke me. He could never really break me mentally, not really. I'd just retreat into my head when things got really bad until he left. After a while it became safer to stay in my mind, it wasn't too long after that when Alice finally found me and set me free." I smiled a small smile at my group of friends. Angel having known Luther's story from being there for so long managed to piece together what happened to me, everything made sense then.

"Come on, I think that's enough tears. We've got work to do." I chuckled, wiping my own tears from my face, my heart feeling a lighter than before. "Is there anything I can get you, by the way?" I looked at Claire.

"Yeah, a gun. Large caliber, and semi-automatic." She grinned, having wiped her own tears away.


End file.
